According to sources, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has initiated the process of subpoenaing the bills of at least three financial institutions of suspended TMC chief Partha Chatterjee’s aide Arpita Mukherjee, where they found at least Rs 2 crore. Meanwhile, Zee News caught up with Arpita’s driver Pranab Bhattacharya for an exclusive interview on the entire incident. Pranab was present during the ED’s raid on Arpita’s Diamond City South flat on July 22. Here are some key factors from the interview:
I began working with Arpita Mukherjee this year in January. I have been working for her for about 7 months.
I got this job after meeting Partha Chatterjee and requesting him to give me the job. I was told to leave my phone number in his office and was advised that I would link up when I got the chance. After a while, I got a name from his office, saying there was a job available – the job was to drive Arpita Mukherjee’s car.
I saw a total of three automobiles in Diamond City’s South Flat – a Honda City, a Mercedes Benz and a Mini Cooper. But I was once allowed to force a Honda City car. However, in the last few months, I haven’t seen Mercedes Benz and Mini Cooper, I don’t recognize where they are.
I would press her for work when she would go to his office or parlour.
She lived in Diamond City South Flats and Parth Chatterjee often visited her. Sometimes during the day break, after work, Arpita would go to Behala to meet Partha Chatterjee. I would be advised to drop her at Parth Chatterjee’s house and go back to his apartment to park the car.
Recently, she visited Santiniketan with her mother, sister and brother-in-law. I took them to the house she owned in Santiniketan. We stayed there for two days.
Welfare catch, the brother-in-law will seem mostly after his work; He visited her often.
I don’t really know tons about money transactions, I’ve never seen anything carried in autos I’ve driven. Also, I used to collect automobile keys from home and wait in the car. I haven’t spent much time in her flat, so I don’t know exactly what’s going on there.
I was present once during the raid of ED on 22nd July. They took away my smartphone and asked me to wait in the balcony. They requested me about the whereabouts of Arpita Mukherjee, what she did and who she met. After interrogation, I was released and told that my cell phone would be returned to me.
